


Part Of This World

by starlightwalking



Series: Fairytale AUs [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Female Smaug, Little Mermaid AU, Nobody Dies, background bagginshield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 11:17:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8888782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking
Summary: Prince Kili of Erebor has always been called to the sea, but on his first voyage as a captain, he falls into the sea. Against all odds, he is rescued by a mysterious woman, who couldn't possibly be a mermaid...right?(A Kiliel Little Mermaid AU.)





	1. The Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whilewewereyetsinners](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whilewewereyetsinners/gifts).



> This turned out so much longer than I anticipated, but I had to go where the story took me, so here you go! Happy Holidays!

Tauriel rested on a rock sticking out of the ocean. Below her was the endless depths of her home, the great blue sea. The rock's tip barely stuck out over the surface, and would vanish underwater from day to day, but below, it was a gargantuan spire, broadening into a tower and stretching down for hundreds of feet to the ocean floor.

Above the surface, Tauriel laid across the flat top of the rock, her arms folded. Her tail, still half in the water, flicked from side to side. Waves, gentle and rolling in this peaceful evening, lapped across her body. Clouds hung on the horizon, promising rain later that night, but Tauriel was safe for now.

Her eyes were fixed on a sight a half mile away: a ship. A ship with _humans_ on it. Every part of her wished to leave the rock and swim toward the ship. She so wished to meet the humans. They were so lively and strange and _different_.

"You know, Father wouldn't like it if he saw you here," a voice said behind her.

Tauriel gasped and whirled around, almost slapping her brother in the face with her tail. Her eyes wide, she spluttered out, "Legolas!"

Legolas didn't even blink, totally unfazed as water splashed him in the face. He bobbed in the ocean, his arms crossed reproachfully, the waves lapping at his chest. "Yes, it's me. You should feel lucky it's not Father."

"Well—what he doesn't know won't hurt him," Tauriel told him. Her words were a plea as well as a comeback: _Don't tell him. Please._

Legolas narrowed his eyes. "You really ought to stop this. You're a princess, Tauriel. You represent our kingdom. What would happen if the other undersea nations found out King Thranduil's daughter was obsessing over _humans_? Greenwater's good standing would be ruined!"

Tauriel swished her tail, not meeting his eyes. "I know. I've heard you tell me a thousand times—"

He began to warn her again, and she spoke the words along with him: "Don't go near the humans, you're better off under the sea!"

Legolas sighed. "Well, it's _true_. You don't belong up here. You're no human, Tauriel. You're a mermaid princess."

Tauriel hung her head. She slid off her rock and into the water, allowing her brother to embrace her.

"You're right," she admitted. "But I just want to _see_ them—"

"Let's go home," Legolas said firmly, hitting her lightly with his tail. "Where we belong."

Tauriel nodded. Satisfied, Legolas dove back under the water.

With only one last glance behind her toward the distant ship, Tauriel followed him.

* * *

"You don't _truly_ believe they exist, do you?" Fíli asked. "Sure, Mother used to read us fairy tales when we were young, but we were supposed to grow out of believing them."

Kíli laughed. "Of course I don't think they _really_ exist." He scoffed. "But naming my first true sea vessel the _Mermaid_ is a way of calling back to my childhood."

They stood on the deck of the _Mermaid_ , leaning out over the harbor. Kíli was happy: he was never more at home than when he was upon the sea, though this was far from the open ocean.

"I don't think you really need any help on calling back to your childhood," Fíli said dryly. "You act like a child all the time."

Kíli swatted his brother's shoulder. "You sound like Mother."

"Mother's right," Fíli said, his eyes twinkling with a joke. "You need to grow up a bit."

Kíli gave a long-suffering sigh. "I _am_ grown up. Would a child have a sea vessel as fine as this?"

"No," Fíli admitted. His expression grew thoughtful. "Mother truly is relieved you've gotten this ship and this job. Being a captain will give you responsibility that you've sorely lacked thus far. As a prince, you need that."

Kíli shrugged. "Hey _you're_ the older brother. _You're_ the one with the chance at being King someday. You need the responsibility. I just do my own thing."

"I've noticed," Fíli said, raising an eyebrow. "So. How will the maiden voyage of the _Mermaid_ be?"

"We'll have to wait and see," Kíli said. "I plan to sail for Dale and Esgaroth. I'll stay on those islands for a night or two each, then come back."

"A diplomatic mission from Thorin?" Fíli asked, naming the man who was both their king and their uncle.

"No, just a trade voyage," Kíli said.

"I thought so." Fíli stroked his short-cropped golden beard thoughtfully. "I would have heard if it was anything...well, important."

"It _is_ important!" Kíli protested. "To me!"

"Yeah, but not to the kingdom," Fíli pointed out. "Erebor has bigger things to worry about than your journey to the neighboring island nations."

"Well, it's _sort_ of diplomatic," Kíli grumbled. "I will be stopping by King Bard's palace to pay my respects, but it's a pleasure cruise, really, not a serious mission. I'm only captain of one ship, not the admiral of the navy."

"Mm." Fíli was not the most knowledgeable of ships or voyages. While he had traveled in his time as heir apparent, he was mostly focused on domestic affairs, staying home with the books and nobles. Kíli, on the other hand, had always felt called to the sea.

Though he didn't believe in mermaids, he had grown up swimming in the ocean, and sometimes he could swear there was something magical in the reefs and shorelines. Of course, if mermaids _were_ real, they would swim in the deepest parts of the ocean and not bother with the beaches. At least, that's what Kíli thought.

As he had grown older, he had accompanied his Uncle Thorin on all kinds of missions, some simply to sail and others to treat with other nations. On one of those occasions, Thorin had met his husband, Bilbo. Then Thorin's father Thráin had died and Thorin had ascended to the throne. Kíli had taken more control of his life at that point and looked further than his family to gain experience with sailing.

There was something totally freeing and peaceful about the open ocean. Kíli felt at home there, as much as or more than he did when he was in the palace with his family. For now, he was content to stand aboard the first ship he would command, his brother beside him.

"Looks like a storm's coming," Fíli noted, glancing out at the darkening sky.

Kíli shrugged. "We'll be fine. Me and my men are experienced sailors."

"Be careful out there," Fíli warned. "Mother and Thorin would never forgive you if you never came back. Uncle Bilbo would weep for days."

"And what about you, brother dearest?" Kíli asked. "Would you be broken hearted if I never returned?"

Completely straight-faced, Fíli said, "I would throw the grandest party the kingdom has ever seen and rejoice in my good fortune." Then he grinned to show he jested.

Kíli cracked a smile, knowing that for all his brother's jokes, Fíli did love him at heart. (He was right, though—the king and his mother would be bitter and angry at both Kíli and themselves if he somehow died, and his uncle's husband, Prince Consort Bilbo, would be inconsolable. The royal family was very close, and despite Fíli's making fun, he had a feeling that his brother would be the most hurt by his hypothetical demise.)

"Who knows? Maybe a pretty lass from Dale will steal my heart away and I will never wish to return home to Erebor," Kíli mused. "Or a mermaid will drown me in the ocean." He grinned. "Both are more likely than me dying in a summer storm."

"Then I suppose my party won't be necessary," Fíli said, mockingly mournful. He glanced down into the ominous depths below. "But truly, Kíli—don't be reckless."

Kíli grinned. "When have I ever been reckless?"

Fíli sighed and shook his head. "I'll be praying for you."

* * *

Despite her promise to Legolas, Tauriel simply could not stay away from the surface. She made all kinds of excuses to her father, King Thranduil—she was taking a swim with friends, she was visiting the coral reefs, she was visiting her mother's tomb—but though he might accept that, her brother was never fooled by her ruses.

Some days, she crept close to the shorelines, watching the humans walk along the beaches. Other times, she watched boats out at sea, far from any coast, celebrating aboard their great floating contraptions and beating the waves. She admired this about the humans: they did not belong in the ocean the same way merfolk did, but despite nature's insistence that they must stay on land, they managed to defy all odds and sail anyway.

Rarest and most exciting of all were the times humans swam in the ocean. Then, Tauriel could see them up _close_ , though never close enough to speak to one. Even she would not dare go that far—to expose the merfolk's existence would be a grave crime that could very well see her trapped below the surface for the rest of her life, even if she was a princess.

Mostly, she collected human artifacts. The sea was full of interesting thingamabobs cast aside by humans: remnants from shipwrecks, human knick knacks, and other, more curious things like human _clothes_. Merfolk did not bother with clothing—it was pointless below the surface.

Today she had found a strange contraption: about the size of her hand, broad and flat on the bottom, but curling up to make some sort of pocket on the top. It was heavy and sturdy. The cavity in the item was large enough to fit her hand in. She wondered what it was for—it wasn't a glove, certainly. Perhaps it would fit the strange things attached to humans' legs. They weren't _feet_ —she knew about feet from the bottom-crawling creatures, and those looked quite different, and besides didn't need covering—but they served a similar purpose.

She had found the object stuck in the reef in Greenwater Kingdom's boundaries. (Boundaries, of course, were a loose thing in endless leagues of water, but this reef was definitely theirs.) It was one of her favorite collection spots, though she wished the humans would be more careful about where they tossed their belongings. Didn't they miss their things? And didn't they know that they were hurting the reef?

She brought the object—she had decided to name it a _foot glove_ —to her collection. She stored her things in a cave on the ocean's floor, far from where her father and her brother could find them. After more than twenty years of this, she had hundreds of human items. Some of them were familiar—the merfolk had forks and cups just like humans did—and some were foreign to her.

She knew what _clothes_ were, as she had overheard some humans talking about them during a stroll on the beach, and most merfolk knew what ships were. She had some ships in her collection, but they were far too small for humans to sail in. She guessed they were decorations. She had also seen huge shipwrecks underwater, and she had even once been brave enough to swim close to a floating ship and touch its wood.

Despite all this, Tauriel still wasn't satisfied. Who cared what other sea kingdoms thought? Who cared if she was strange and too concerned with things outside her realm? She yearned to be among humans, to actually _speak_ with them and learn of their ways. They were so very like merfolk from the waist up, and she was certain that she could befriend them, if only she could talk to them. Sometimes, she thought she should have been born with legs instead of a tail. She longed to be part of their world, but instead she was a mermaid.

Her brother thought she was crazy. Legolas just didn't understand her. He was a responsible prince, the pride of his father, set to be a great king of Greenwater some day. He cared about her, of course, but he wanted her to be a proper mermaid princess.

Her father disapproved her fascination. Thranduil was of a similar mind of Legolas, but as king, he had less time to get into her business. He didn't know the extent of her obsession with the humans, and neither did Legolas, and she didn't want them to. They would never understand. That was fine by her, as long as they let her do what made her happy.

Tauriel placed the foot glove among the rest of her collection, giving it a home beside something she knew was a glove. She swam out of her cave and up to the surface. She frowned, realizing something was wrong.

The storm came crawling on the horizon. It had been brewing for days, disturbing the upper waters of neighboring sea kingdoms. Now it had swept over her home and the coast. Greenwater was a coastal kingdom, bordering some human nation. Now both kingdoms were being tormented by the storm in the skies.

Tauriel felt the rain splatter her face and she laughed. She liked storms. Though most merfolk thought they were dangerous and that one should stick to the lower sea during such a tumult, she thought they were exciting. Then again, she had never been like most merfolk.

She should have swam back home, but she didn't feel like it. Legolas would have, and he probably was already back in the palace, complaining that she always ran off at the worst times. She was going to have some _fun_.

A huge wave curled over her head. Tauriel whooped with joy and jumped out of the water to meet it head on. Merfolk could breathe both air and water, and so she was quite enjoying herself, getting dizzy over the shock to her lungs and gills as they quickly transitioned from breathing air to water. This was reckless behavior, she knew, and she might regret it later, but it was exhilarating.

She laughed and danced in the waves. No, she was glad she was a mermaid: no human could play like this.

After one huge wave swept her up and dumped her in a completely different patch of ocean, Tauriel decided to just relax. She dove down a few feet and watched as the waves swirled around and above her. She was by no means _safe,_ but she was happy.

Then she noticed the ship.

It was hard to pick out from her underwater position, but she recognized the bottom of the ship moving up, down, up, down, pushed about by the storm.

That was wrong. What ship would be sailing in this storm? Merfolk could survive easily, but any humans would die.

Tauriel swam closer. She didn't get too close to the ship, not wishing to be hurt if it sank, but she swam anxiously around it.

There were lights and shouting above her, aboard the boat. She wished she could help them, but...she could never save an entire ship.

But these were _humans_. So helpless in the water, aboard their strange floating contraptions, yet still fighting for something they didn't quite understand: the right to the sea. The irony was beautiful. She couldn't just _leave_ them.

Suddenly, above her, there was a splash. Something entered the water: an anchor? A barrel? She knew what those were, having seen many of them broken or lost on the ocean floor.

No. It was a human. A human!

The human sank like a stone. Tauriel gasped. They would die! They couldn't breathe underwater like she could!

The human wasn't dead yet. They swam upward, feebly and weakly. With no tail, they didn't stand a chance. They couldn't make it to the surface. Even as Tauriel watched, the boat was pushed further and further away from the human by the storm, and the human stopped struggling. They were as good as dead.

Tauriel made a split-second decision. She couldn't simply stand by and watch this human die, not if she could save them.

She swam toward them easily and grabbed them under the arms. With her arms around the human's chest, she could tell they were probably male, but that didn't matter in the moment.

She dragged him to the surface. As soon as she broke up into the air, she heard him grunt. Good—he was still alive. She could still save him.

The storm still raged. Waves swept over her and the human. This was no longer fun or exciting. Tauriel could make it to the far-away shore quickly if she could travel underwater, but she had the human to think about.

Grimly, she set her course toward the shore. It would take a long time—hours, perhaps. But she wasn't going to let this human die, no matter what her family would say when they found out what she had done.

* * *

The storm blew itself out overnight. Dawn broke the next morning, the ground wet and the beach upturned and strewn with garbage that had been swept ashore in the chaos.

An old woman came the beach to find the clothes that had been blown off her clothesline. She lived in a house by the shore, and if they would be anywhere, it would be there.

She did not find her clothes; they were lost to sea. But she did find something else.

She shouted as soon as she saw the man, crying for help. He was half-dead, unconscious on the sand. She didn't know how he had come to be there or if he would survive. He didn't know either, but the old woman was not one to let people suffer if she could do something about it. Most humans weren't, really.

* * *

Kíli woke in the old woman's house. She fed him and assured him that he would survive, that he had washed ashore. She complained about losing her clothes in the storm.

"You'll get twice as many back," Kíli promised her. He was a prince, and he would properly reward those who helped him.

When he had regained his strength, he returned to the capital to reunite with his family.

Fíli embraced him tightly, first and foremost. "I thought you were listening when I told you to be careful out there!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe you survived!"

"What _happened_ , Kíli?" his mother, Dís, asked. "Your ship came back, without you. They said you'd gone overboard trying to save a deck hand."

"Did he survive?" Kíli demanded. If he had, he hoped the poor boy had learned his lesson and would watch out for himself during the next storm.

"The lad is fine," Bilbo assured him. "But what about you?"

"It's a long story," Kíli said. "I'll tell all of you later."

"Tell us _now_ ," Thorin urged him. "I had declared nationwide mourning—now we'll have to declare a celebration, for you've survived!"

They were all relieved, so much so that Kíli's heart broke. His apparent death must have crushed his family. Now that he had come back home, he was even more grateful to have somehow survived.

"Alright," he said. He was happy to be home. He would do what his family wanted him to. They deserved to hear the tale, after all.

They sat down at a table and Kíli recounted his tale.

"There was a storm the day we set out," he explained, "but nothing big. We weathered it fine. We arrived in Dale, and I paid my respects to King Bard. Then I went to Esgaroth across the channel. We traded for two days, then I decided it was time to go home.

"The next morning was a fine day. A bit dark and cloudy, but there was no sign of rain. We expected it to be an easy voyage—we would be back in no time." He paused. "Then the storm blew in. It was at night, it was raging, and I—I lost my head." He hung his head. "I tried to save everyone, but I just couldn't. A couple men went overboard. I tried to steer us to safety, but—I've been in storms at sea, but this was a monster."

"Kíli, it's not your fault," Bilbo said. "You did what you could."

"You did more than you needed," Dís said. "You didn't need to risk your life for that boy."

"But I _did_." She was trying to help, but she didn't understand. "I was his captain. I was responsible for all of them, and—"

"Kíli, when you're in charge, you've got to make hard decisions." Thorin's voice was kind. Kíli looked at him, knowing he was right. "You can't save everyone, sometimes. As a king, or as a captain, you do what's best for the most people."

"And risking your life for one boy isn't worth the whole ship's destruction," Fíli said. He, too, was kind, but firm. "You got lucky this time, Kíli. You only lost three men, and the boy was saved. The _Mermaid_ got back to the capital and will live to sail another day."

"But not with me as captain," Kíli said, his voice heavy. "I don't deserve it."

They immediately protested: He was being too hard on himself! It was his first voyage, his first mistake! There would be other chances to prove himself!

But what really cut through to him was Bilbo's words: "You'll never be a good captain if you don't learn from your mistakes, Kíli."

"You're right," Kíli admitted. "I'll...think of something. I'll be better next time."

"And the _Mermaid_ wants you back," Fíli added. "Your first mate, Bofur, is waiting to talk to you. He came as soon as he heard you survived."

A weight lifted off Kíli's chest. If Bofur was anxious to see him, maybe his crew wouldn't hate him after this.

"But Kíli, you still haven't told us how you survived," Dís interrupted.

"Yes, we know how you went overboard, but how did you survive? Your crew says you were miles from any shore!" Thorin said.

Kíli shook his head. "I...don't remember." Only, he did: he remembered someone clutching him, dragging him back up to the surface, saving his life. He had passed out after that, only to wake up as he fell against soft ground. But even that was a hazy memory: fiery red hair, a young woman's anxious, beautiful, haunting face. She had been topless, but all his eyes were drawn to was her face, so concerned and strange. She had looked so human...yet so alien, with a pale and faintly translucent face, skin slimy and cold to the touch, and ears shaped almost like seashells.

And had it just been his imagination, or had her legs not been legs at all, but a great green tail?

He must have made her up, some fever dream to justify his miraculous survival. He certainly hadn't been saved by...a _mermaid_. And he couldn't tell that to his family.

"I guess I just washed ashore," he said. "The gods must have decided it wasn't my time to die."

"We are all thankful for that," Bilbo said, smiling.

Kíli was thankful, too. But the nagging thought at the back of his mind remained: how _had_ he survived, if the mermaid who had saved him was just a figment of his confused mind?

* * *

Tauriel had been sorely punished for her late-night storm excursion. Thranduil had confined her to the palace for weeks, preventing her from scavenging for human items or even just swimming freely. Legolas said that it was her own fault, and besides, it was good for her. Thranduil said she needed to learn a lesson in safety.

Tauriel had known this would happen, so she wasn't too bothered. She did miss scavenging, but it wasn't as if she couldn't swim in the palace, and she would be able to do what she wanted soon enough. It would have been much worse if she had told them that the reason she had been out so late was that she had saved a human.

Her punishment was worth it. She remembered the human, so fragile and weak in her arms, limp the whole long journey to the shore. When she had at last set him down upon the sandy beach, he had awoken.

He had just stared at her, mumbling something she could not understand. He had been soaked and disheveled, his long dark hair tangled and matted with sea salt. He was simply not built for the ocean, and yet he sailed anyway.

Tauriel hoped his near-death experience would not kill that desire inside him to see the ocean's glory. Part of her even wished to see him again, sailing from a distance.

She wondered if he remembered her.

"How is confinement treating you, Tauriel?" Legolas asked her one morning. He had been insufferable since her punishment had begun, never missing a chance to tell her that she deserved exactly this.

"Just fine," she told him brightly. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing she was, of course, deathly bored. "I've learned five new ways to weave seaweed together."

"That sounds like a good hobby," Legolas said. "Better than what you were doing before."

"It's not as exciting, of course," she admitted. "But I'll take what I can get."

"See, this punishment is working wonders for you," he informed her. "This is how you should have been all along!"

Now Tauriel was beginning to be irritated. Who was he to tell her who she ought to be? "I'm looking forward to scavenging as soon as I am able to leave the palace again," she said. "My collection has gone woefully unattended while I've been trapped here!"

"I'm sure your collection can survive," Legolas said, narrowing his eyes. "Does Father know about your hobbies?"

"Well, some of them," Tauriel said. Thranduil knew about her small collection, the one she kept in her rooms in the palace, and he tolerated it as long as she did her duties as a princess. "He doesn't know about...my cave."

Legolas did know, having followed her there many times. He raised a perfect golden eyebrow. "I see."

"You musn't tell him," she urged. "He'd never let me swim about freely again if—"

"If what, Tauriel?" a cold voice said.

Tauriel went very still. Thranduil appeared in her open doorway, holding his huge blue trident in his left hand, the mark of a mer-king, given to his ancestors by the gods. His long silver-gold hair floated in the air. He swam up to Legolas, and Tauriel thought she was looking at two copies of the same person. The only difference between father and son was that Legolas looked younger. Tauriel herself didn't look much like her father, taking after her red-haired mother instead.

"If...nothing." Tauriel couldn't tell him.

"I heard." Thranduil pursed his lips disapprovingly. "I let you keep a few little things here in the palace, but...how many more do you have in this cave of yours?'

"I don't..." Words failed her. "It's not that..."

"Take me there," Thranduil ordered.

"But, Father!" she protested.

Legolas looked, if possible, even more smug. "I told you what would come of this, Tauriel," he said. "You're a mermaid, not a human! You shouldn't go messing with things that don't concern you!"

"Tauriel, don't make me order you again," Thranduil warned her. "If you show me now, you'll be in less trouble."

Tauriel's shoulders slumped. "Alright," she murmured. "I'll take you there."

The journey out to the cave was a fast one. Tauriel didn't like keeping her collection so close to her misguided family, but she needed to in order to flit back and forth between the cave and the palace.

When Thranduil beheld her collection, all he could do is stare, his mouth flopping gently open. Shelves upon shelves, stacks upon stacks, her twenty years of hard work now laid bare. Tauriel trembled, worrying what he would do next.

Legolas watched their father with glee, no doubt imagining what kind of punishment she would have to endure. Tauriel was thinking the same thing: would she ever be allowed to see her collection again, or be free to add to it?

"Tauriel..." Thranduil said. For once, he could not find anything to say. "This is..."

"It's beautiful," Tauriel whispered. "It's years of work. Look—" She picked up a small boat figurine. "It's a tiny boat. Aren't the humans _strange_? They can't sail in something like this! And—" She set the boat down, then grabbed a piece of clothing. "They cover themselves with things like this!"

Thranduil did not seem impressed. Tauriel showed him item after item, hoping that somehow, he would understand.

"And this I call a foot-glove!" she proclaimed. "You know, for those things on their legs that look crab feet, sort of."

"Tauriel." Thranduil had somehow found his voice. "You are my daughter, and I love you. But this..." He spread his hand to indicate her cave of human items. "This is madness. I have tolerated your oddities, for everyone has some, but this obsession has gone too far."

"Father—" she protested, but he cut her off.

"You are a mer-princess. You represent Greenwater. This is not suitable for someone of your station." Thranduil shook his head. "No more. This... _collection_...will not continue. You are not to scavenge any longer, and if you go behind my back one more time, I will ensure you are confined to the palace until you have learned your place."

"But, Father!" Tauriel exclaimed, fighting back tears. "You can't! This is—this is my life!"

"Is this why you were out so late during the storm?" Legolas asked. "Scavenging?"

"I was playing in the storm, like I told you!" she said. "I didn't find anything to bring back!"

"But you found something, didn't you," Legolas pointed out shrewdly. "What was it—a shipwreck?"

"I found a human!" she shouted. Then she slapped her hands over her mouth, horrified she had been so careless to tell them. "I mean..."

"A human? You were talking to a human?" Thranduil demanded. His trident, which kept the magic of the Greenwater kingdom, began to glow.

"Not talking!" she said. "He was drowning, I had to save him! I only brought him to the shore, no more!"

"Tauriel, this is very grave!" Thranduil said. "You have gone further than even I would have imagined!" He shook his head, raising his glowing trident. "I cannot allow this to continue. You have gone too far."

He pointed his trident at her collection, and Tauriel cried out, " _No!_ "

A bolt of magic shot from the trident and hit a shelf, exploding her prized human possessions.

"Father, how could you?" she sobbed.

His face impassive, Thranduil pointed at another shelf. Pile after pile, shelf after shelf, he destroyed her collection, until only watery ashes remained.

When the chaos stopped, the only sound was Tauriel's sobs. Legolas's face was ashen, his eyes wide with horror. She doubted even he had expected Thranduil to go this far, but this was all his fault. No doubt he had asked Thranduil to eavesdrop while he got her to admit the existence of her collection.

"Tauriel, I am sorry," Thranduil said. He reached out an arm to comfort her, but she slapped it away. "I only did what I needed to—"

"I _hate_ you," she cried, her tears joining the salt of the sea. "I never want to see you again!" She turned and swam away from the destruction of all she held dear, deaf to her family's cries of protest.

She swam blindly into the ocean, not knowing or caring where the current took her. She saw fish and sharks, but even the predators of the ocean stayed away from her. No one wished to disturb an angry mer-princess.

She swam until she could not swim anymore. Then she darted into a nearby cave, one she had never seen before. It went against all sense and reason, but Tauriel wasn't feeling sensible or reasonable at that moment. She was _furious_.

Her life was ruined. Her collection, everything she had worked so hard to find her whole life, was destroyed. Her family didn't care about her. She ought to run away, find a new life, but who in the whole ocean would understand her and her love for humans?

"If only I could _be_ a human," she whispered. "They would understand me..."

There was a soft voice behind her: "But you are a mermaid, my dear."

Tauriel screamed. She tried to swim out of the cave, but a monstrous creature rose to fill her view: scaly, many-toothed, and three times as big as she was. A sea dragon!

"Please—I'm sorry—" Tauriel cried, shrinking away from the dragon.

"There's no need to apologize, my dear," the dragon said in a voice as smooth as the surface on a calm day. "I've heard of you, darling. Or should I say...your Highness."

"You...know who I am?" Tauriel asked.

"Of course I do," the dragon said, slithering away from the cave entrance. "And I know of your plight."

"You do?"

"The whole ocean knows, Princess Tauriel," the dragon said. "Come, rest beside me. Perhaps I can help you."

Hesitantly, Tauriel sat on the cave floor, watching as the great dragon curled its coils and looked at her.

"Who are you?" Tauriel. "I've heard of sea dragons, but...I've never _seen_ one before."

"I am Smaug, a Sea Witch," the dragon said grandly. Her great golden eyes blinked at Tauriel. "I was once a high evildoer, wreaking havoc in Greenwater Kingdom and the greater sea, but after your father...defeated me, I was banished to this magical cave." She smiled, baring her great dragon teeth. "In my years of sitting here, all alone, I have learned the error of my ways...now I help those who need my magic. Only those who are _truly_ in need can stumble upon this cave entrance."

Tauriel gasped. "I know you!" she exclaimed. "My father bested you with his trident. He first met my mother after he rescued her from...you."

Smaug laughed, a great, deep-chested sound. "Yes," she admitted, "but that's all in the past. I regret my evil days! What a fool I was to think I could be queen of Greenwater—I, a dragon, queen of the merfolk!" She sighed. "What a shame it was that your mother died so young...If she had only trusted me when I offered to heal her of her illness, she could have lived."

"You offered to heal my mother?" Tauriel asked. She remembered her mother's death, so many years ago. She had only been a child, and her mother had faded away from some dreadful illness.

"Yes, but all magic comes at a price." Smaug shook her head. "She would rather die than pay it. It's not as if _I_ am the one who creates these rules...but she held her beautiful hair too high in esteem to even save her life."

Tauriel was shocked. Her mother had thrown her life away for the sake of her hair? How foolish! She had left Tauriel and Legolas motherless over such a petty thing?

"Of course, she probably simply did not trust me after all I did to her in my past," Smaug admitted. "She did not _mean_ to abandon you."

But Tauriel felt very abandoned, not only by Legolas and Thranduil, but by her long-dead mother now as well.

"And...you can help me?" she asked. _She_ would not be so foolish as her mother. If the repentant Smaug could help her, she would do what she must.

"Yes," Smaug confirmed. "I can give you your heart's desire. I can give you a home where you are loved, where you are understood...where you are _wanted_."

Tauriel closed her eyes, imagining it. Thranduil and Legolas, loving her for who she was instead of who she wanted them to be? Her collection restored? Or perhaps...

"But why?" Tauriel asked. "So you've become a good witch now, but what will this do for you?"

"Well, all magic comes at a price, as I said." Smaug shifted her coils, giving Tauriel her deadly smile.

"What price?"

"For your mother, it was her hair. For you, my dear..." Smaug dropped to a low growl. "I need your voice."

"My voice!" Tauriel cried. "But why?"

"A voice is a powerful thing," Smaug explained. "It can make or break a person. But it is not necessary to live. And besides...humans prefer a girl who can't talk."

"Humans?" Tauriel asked. "What do you mean?"

"Did you think I was going to fix your home in Greenwater?" Smaug laughed. "No, no. They're too far gone. They'll never love you for who you are! No, sweet Princess. I'm going to give you a home with the human you love...the one you saved."

"I don't love him!" Tauriel protested.

"Was it worth it, to save him?" Smaug asked. "I see everything in these waters, and even some on the land. I know you can't stop thinking about him. And _he_ can't stop thinking about _you_ , either."

Tauriel really didn't think she loved him. That wasn't why she had rescued him. But now, thinking about it...it had been worth it, every moment. Even after all her punishment, she would have done it again. And the look in his eyes as she had left him...it had tore her apart inside to just disappear back into the ocean. She wanted to see him again.

And now Smaug was giving her a chance.

Maybe she would love him, if she saw him again. Maybe he would love her.

"The rules of magic are very clear," Smaug said. "I must take your voice from you. I will give you a human body and a home on the land, in the Kingdom of Erebor where the man you love is a prince."

A prince? Tauriel's heart fluttered. She hadn't known that!

"And if you love him and he loves you, there is a way to get your voice back," Smaug said. "On true love's first kiss, your voice will return to you, and all will be well." She smirked. "Until then, body language will suffice."

"But how can he grow to love me if I have no voice?" Tauriel asked. "Will he remember me?"

"He doesn't believe in mermaids," Smaug said. "He may believe the gods sent you."

"But...my family." Tauriel hesitated. "If I leave, I may never see them again!"

"I thought you didn't want to see them again." Smaug moved, her great coils wrapping around Tauriel. She could squeeze Tauriel in her dragon body and kill her in an instant, but she didn't. "And they don't want to see you anymore. They don't love you."

Tauriel remembered her father's impassive expression as he destroyed her collection. She recalled Legolas's smug smirk as he dragged her into a deeper punishment. Smaug was right. They didn't love her. And if the prince she had rescued did...

"Do you want to be a human or not?" Smaug whispered in her ear.

Tauriel sat very still. She felt the scales of her tail, so useful for swimming, but stopping her from ever seeing the prince again, or from ever being among the people she loved.

"Yes," she decided. "I do."

"Very well!" Smaug cried, and she released Tauriel from her coils. Her scales began to glow all the colors of the coral reef, light dancing in the water. "Then you will have your heart's desire!"

Tauriel was blinded as Smaug glowed brighter and brighter, and she screamed as she felt Smaug's magic turn on her—until suddenly she could scream no more, and her mind went blank.


	2. The Land

Kíli walked along the shoreline. He had done this for weeks, grateful that the capital was a coastal city. Once a day, some feeling inside him drove him to the ocean's shore. He hadn't taken another voyage since the day he'd almost died. He planned to return to the _Mermaid_ sometime soon, but he didn't feel ready. Not yet.

He didn't know what he was looking for on the shore. Perhaps it was the sense of connection to the sea that he had once had. The waves, lapping on the beach, held only a slight sense of fear for him. He tried to recall how they had instilled such wonder inside him as a child. Where was the call he had once felt to explore beyond the horizon? Where was his drive to sail?

His family was growing worried, he could tell. They wanted him back to normal just as much as he did. Perhaps even more. But they were patient with him, for which he was grateful.

Kíli felt the sand beneath his feet, the salty breeze on his face. This felt good. He missed the waves rocking the ship beneath him. Perhaps tomorrow would be the day he boarded the _Mermaid_ again.

Then he saw the girl.

She was stretched out across the sands, long red hair splayed across her body. She was totally naked. Kíli had no idea who she was or how she had gotten there, but she was not safe alone on the beach.

He ran toward her and knelt beside her. She was breathing slowly, like she was sleeping. Her eyes were closed, her skin pale and smooth. He sat there for a few moments, not knowing what to do. She was beautiful, he realized. What was she doing naked on the shore?

There was something about her hair...she looked familiar. Where had he seen hair like that before?

Kíli shook that thought out of his mind. That didn't matter now—getting this girl to safety did. He picked her up carefully, realizing with a start that she would be far taller than him if she stood.

She gasped, her eyes opening wide. Kíli gasped as well, startled by her sudden wakefulness.

"Lady," he said, "who are you? Are you hurt?"

The woman opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Then she shook her head, mute.

"I'm taking you to safety," he promised her.

She smiled, then promptly fainted again.

Grateful for years of hard labor at sea to make him strong, he carried her away from the beach and up to the city, where he could find some clothes for her and then take her to the palace.

* * *

"So what's your name?" the human asked.

Tauriel shook her head. She couldn't speak, and she didn't know any hand signs. _I'm sorry,_ she thought. _I wish I could tell you._

"Come on," the human wheedled. "Just tell me."

She shook her head again. He had already told her that his name was _Kíli_ , that he was a prince of Erebor and that he had saved her. Just hearing his name made her dizzy. Smaug really had been right—this was certainly the same man she had saved, and he was a prince. Was the dragon right about her love for him? Was she right about him loving her, too?

"Can you...not speak?" Kíli asked.

Relieved that he had finally guessed right, Tauriel nodded emphatically.

"Ahh," Kíli said. "Okay. I guess I'll just have to do the talking for you. Just nod or shake your head and let me guess, alright?"

Tauriel nodded.

"Can you write?" he asked.

Tauriel nodded. Merfolk were a sophisticated species. But although they spoke the same language as the people above the ocean, she didn't know if it was the same in writing.

"Excellent!" Kíli said. "Alright, I'll get you some paper." He left the room.

After he left, Tauriel sighed. She wished she could speak. It would be so much easier. But losing her voice was worth being a human.

Humans were so _interesting,_ far beyond anything she could have imagined while living in Greenwater. Everyone wore so much clothing, and their food was different. The strangest part of the whole affair was having legs. She had discovered that the things at the bottom of her new legs were indeed called feet, and that her "foot-glove" was actually called a _shoe._

Kíli was a handsome human, with dark hair and brown eyes. He had a smile that made Tauriel feel uncomfortably warm. He was young by human standards but he was an adult. He was a prince, and he had brought her to the palace after clothing her in the city. He promised he would introduce her to his family at supper.

Tauriel liked him immensely. She didn't know if she would call it "love", as Smaug did, but given time, she suspected that might change.

When he walked back in the door, she smiled at him. He handed her paper and a pen.

"Can you write your name for me?" he asked. "I want to know what to call you."

Tauriel nodded. She took the pen and carefully wrote her name.

When she showed him what she had written, his face fell.

"I can't read this," he said. "What language is that? No, you can't tell, of course. But you understand me?"

Tauriel nodded. She supposed that Mermish sounded the same as whatever language they spoke in Erebor, but their modes of writing were different.

"Well...I want to know," Kíli asked. "Does your name start with an A?"

Tauriel looked at him in confusion. She didn't know what an A was. Perhaps it was part of the human alphabet?

"An _ah_ sound, then?" Kíli prompted.

Tauriel shook her head.

"Then a _buh_ sound? A _kuh_ or a _ss_?" On and on he went, exhausting the sounds in his language, until at last he asked, "Then what about _tuh_?"

She beamed and nodded.

"T! Your name starts with T!" Kíli exclaimed. He grinned. "How long is it? One syllable? Two? Three?"

Tauriel nodded on the last one. It would be a long process of figuring out what her name was, but he was cute and truly determined to know what she was called.

It only took about an hour before Kíli had figured it out: "So your name is Toriel?"

She shifted her hand from side to side. _Close_.

"Hmm, not quite." Kíli concentrated. "Which part is wrong? Is it Torrel?"

She shook her head. Then she held out her palm and tapped on it in a line of three invisible dots. Then she tapped the first dot again.

"It's the beginning that's wrong? The first syllable?"

She nodded.

"Okay. It's not Toriel, so...Tariel?"

She motioned for him to keep guessing, smiling so that he might know he was close.

"Tauriel?"

She grinned and nodded several times, clapping her hands with joy.

"Tauriel! You're called Tauriel!" Kíli grabbed her hands and kissed them.

Tauriel thought she might faint again. She wondered if that would count, and that her voice would come flooding back to her—but it did not. Smaug's laws of magic must be more specific than that.

"Lady Tauriel—are you a lady?" Kíli asked.

Tauriel only shrugged. He wouldn't understand if she revealed she was a princess, and she didn't know that he would be interested if he thought she was a commoner. "Lady" would do.

"Alright, that doesn't help, but I guess I'll call you Lady," he said. "My family has heard I have a visitor and they're anxious to meet you."

She smiled. She wanted to meet them, too—the rest of the new family Smaug had promised her. Bitterly, she remembered her old family. She wondered if they knew she was missing by now, or if they even cared.

"Let's go to supper," he said. "May I have your arm?"

Shyly, she offered it to him. She was taller than him, but it felt very natural to take his arm and let him lead her down the halls of the palace.

They sat down to supper. Four other people joined them. One was a middle-aged woman who looked very much like Kíli, with dark hair and brown eyes. One was a young man who looked to be about Kíli's age. His hair was a golden blond, his eyes a pale grey blue, but his features were similar to Kíli's. Another was an older man with dark hair and blue eyes, wearing a crown. She guessed that he was the king of Erebor, perhaps Kíli's father.

The final person was a man who looked nothing like any of the rest of them. He was short and plump, with curly light brown hair and a warm smile. He, too, wore a crown, though one far less ornate than the king's. He sat on the king's right and acted so affectionate with him that Tauriel thought they must be married.

"Kíli!" the blond man said. "Who's this lady you've been so excited about?"

Tauriel looked at him, wondering if he realized that she could hear him. Maybe Smaug was right, and humans preferred their women silent.

"This is Lady Tauriel," Kíli said. "I found her on the beach this morning, unconscious and alone." He omitted that she had been naked as well. Tauriel wondered why. Humans had peculiar ideas about nakedness and clothing, she had noticed. That probably had something to do with it.

"A Lady?" the woman said. She looked at Tauriel with interest.

"Well...I don't know if she's truly a noble," Kíli admitted. "But she's a guest in our house."

"Of course," the woman said. "How did you come to the beach, Lady Tauriel?"

Tauriel looked anxiously at Kíli. She wished she could explain herself, but without her voice, it was difficult to communicate.

"She cannot speak," Kíli explained. "It was quite difficult to figure out what her name was, but we managed." He shot Tauriel a smile.

The food arrived after that, so Tauriel was spared the awkwardness of Kíli's family wondering who she was and why she couldn't speak. Human cuisine was so radically different from what Tauriel ate underwater that she had a hard time expressing her delight and surprise as she tried each new course. Kíli's family laughed at her expressions, even if she couldn't tell them why she was making them. She felt good about that. She could tell they liked her and found her funny, although also very strange, and that they were not laughing _at_ her, but _with_ her.

"Tauriel, this is my family," Kíli explained. "Princess Dís, my mother. And King Thorin, my uncle."

Tauriel nodded to each of them.

"Prince Fíli, my brother," Kíli said, pointing to the gold-haired young man.

Fíli smiled at her. Tauriel smiled back. He seemed like a friendly fellow.

"And Prince Consort Bilbo, Thorin's husband," Kíli concluded.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady," Bilbo said.

"So, Tauriel," Fíli began, "I know you can't exactly respond, but may I ask a few questions?"

Tauriel nodded. She glanced at Kíli.

"Fíli's tactful," he murmured. "More than I am, for sure. Don't worry."

"Do you come from a neighboring kingdom, or do you live in Erebor?" Fíli asked.

Tauriel pondered this. Truly, the answer was both: she was from Greenwater, which neighbored Erebor, but it was so close to Erebor's borders that she thought the humans probably counted her part of the sea as their own.

She smiled and nodded.

"Is that yes to the first or the second?" Fíli said.

She held up one finger. It would make more sense to him.

"Do you come from Rhûn, then?" Thorin asked.

She shook her head, and she did so as they all inquired if she was from the kingdoms of Dale, Ironhill, and Hollin.

"I don't know what to say," Bilbo said, scratching his head. "That's all the neighboring kingdoms I know of."

Tauriel used her hands to mime waves.

"You come from the hills?" Kíli guessed.

Tauriel shook her head.

"The sea!" he realized. "Of course!" He frowned, looking at her with new eyes. "But...where in the sea? An island? We already guessed Dale."

"Esgaroth?" Dís wondered.

Tauriel didn't know where that was, but she nodded, if only to give them an answer.

"Well, Esgaroth is part of the kingdom of Dale," Thorin pointed out.

Tauriel only shrugged. She wasn't sure what else to do.

"Maybe it doesn't seem that way to the locals," Fíli said.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?" Kíli asked. "I thought you looked familiar, and I was on Esgaroth not too long ago."

Tauriel only smiled. He wouldn't understand if he really knew who she was, but it was nice to know that some small part of him remembered her.

They regaled her with questions for the rest of the meal, but Tauriel's answers were vague and hard to understand. Now she was grateful that she couldn't talk—it made concealing her true identity so much easier.

When supper was over, Kíli took her to her rooms. Tauriel was impressed by the human beds. Without water to buoy them up, humans devised incredibly comfortable places to sleep. She sat down on her bed and sighed happily.

Kíli sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry if I'm a bit overzealous, but—" He smiled at her. "I think you're beautiful, Lady Tauriel."

Tauriel blushed. She thought he was quite handsome, too. She wished she could kiss him right then and tell him the truth, but she didn't wish to scare him off.

"How do you like my family?" he asked.

Tauriel smiled, hoping he would know that meant she liked them. She grabbed a lock of her hair and curled it in her finger, then clasped both her hands and nodded.

"You like Bilbo?" Kíli guessed. "The curly hair, I'm guessing?"

She nodded. She pointed at him, then lifted her hand.

"Fíli, because he's like me but taller," Kíli said.

Tauriel nodded. Then she pretended to laugh.

"He's funny!" Kíli said. "Yes, I guess he is. He's quite inquisitive, too, don't you think."

Tauriel nodded to show she agreed. She put her hands over her head in a triangle to indicate Thorin's crown.

"Thorin!" Kíli said. "Yes, do you like him?"

She thrust her chin out and rubbed her chin, a ponderous expression on her face.

Kíli laughed. "Yes, he's quite serious. But he's a good king, and a good uncle. He has his soft moments—more of them, now that he's married to Bilbo." He frowned. "That leaves...just Mother."

Tauriel wasn't sure what to make of Dís. She thought for a moment, then shrugged. She looked at Kíli with wide eyes, putting her hand on her chest.

"Does she like you?" Kíli said. "I don't know. Maybe not yet. When Thorin first brought Bilbo home, she had a tough time getting along with him, but they're good friends now."

Tauriel's heart warmed as he compared her to his uncle's spouse. Did he have similar intentions with her as Thorin had with Bilbo? Truly, that was what she wanted, whether she loved Kíli or not yet. Even after only one night in Erebor, she was happier than she had been in Greenwater.

Kíli glanced out the window. "It's dark out," he said. "I know some lords who would bother pretty girls they brought home, but I'm not like that." He looked at her seriously. "I'll let you sleep. And...Tauriel, do you want to go home?"

Tauriel shook her head emphatically.

"I don't know if my family will understand that," Kíli said, "but I thought that was the case. I want you to stay, too. I like you, Tauriel."

She liked him too. She smiled and took his hand. Truthfully, she wouldn't mind if he wanted to stay the night with her, but she liked him even more for being a true gentleman. She had known some mermen who were like the lords he described.

Kíli looked uncertainly between their hands and Tauriel's smile. Tauriel leaned forward, and he leaned into her. His eyes were wide and almost vulnerable, so different from the confident young man who had helped her settle in.

There was a knock at the door. Tauriel sat bolt upright, and Kíli jumped to his feet.

"Kíli? Are you in there?" Fíli called.

"Yes," Kíli called. "I'll be out in a moment!" He turned to Tauriel. "Um. Goodnight, Tauriel."

She blinked at him, a small smile on her lips.

Then he left.

Tauriel lay down on her bed and sighed. Had they almost kissed? She wished they had, and she would know that he truly wanted to keep her around. Her voice would have returned, and...and then what? How would she explain herself? Would he think she was strange and a liar and not part of his world? Would he cast her out like her old family had?

She didn't know. Instead of worrying, she decided to sleep.

* * *

Tauriel was the most interesting girl Kíli had ever met. She was constantly surprised and excited about the most mundane parts of Kíli's life. She had been shocked to discover that people in Erebor changed their clothes every day, that they bathed on a regular occasion, and that prayers to the gods were a daily occurrence. Kíli had been to Esgaroth, Tauriel's homeland, but he wondered if he had missed something big while he was there.

Fíli thought she was strange, but Kíli found her delightful. He liked explaining Erebor's customs to her, and she was always eager to listen and learn.

She was a truly beautiful person, and her oddities only made her more so in Kíli's eyes. He was grateful that he had found her on the beach that day, however she had gotten there. There was so much he didn't know about her, so much he wished she could tell him. Perhaps the gods had sent her from their realm, and tied her tongue so she couldn't reveal their secrets.

Regardless, Tauriel quickly became the brightest part of his life. Kíli almost forgot about his woes of whether or not he ought to return to sea, but when he did remember them, Tauriel was there to listen to him.

It was hard to hold a conversation with her, especially since he wanted to make sure his relationship with her wasn't one-sided. But if he paid attention to her gestures and facial expressions, he found he could understand her quite well. The way she communicated was just part of who she was, and Kíli found he could love that part of her as well.

Well—maybe not _love_. He was hesitant to use that word. Love was what Thorin and Bilbo felt for each other, what he felt for his family, what he had once felt for his crew and the sea. (He wanted to feel that again, someday.) But he definitely _liked_ Tauriel, a lot.

He thought back to Thorin and Bilbo's courtship, how they had slowly grown to love each other after a year or more of simply liking. Would he and Tauriel end up married like they had? The thought was a nice one, though he wondered if Tauriel felt the same way.

Kíli wanted to kiss her and find out. He was fairly sure she wanted to kiss him, too. But things kept _happening_ , every time they were close to doing so. Fíli bursting in on them the first night was only beginning.

One night, only a week after Tauriel first came to live in Erebor, they had been walking together in the gardens. They sat together on a bench as the sun set, Kíli matching Tauriel's silence in the peaceful moment. She had rested her head on his shoulder and he had leaned over to kiss her forehead. Instead, she had lifted her head to meet him with her own lips, and then—

A bird had cawed loudly and burst out of the bush behind them, ruining the moment. Kíli had jumped away from her, mortified, and decided to try again at some other time.

Another time, Kíli had walked in on her as she was changing her clothes. Blushing madly, for all he had seen her naked that first day on the beach, he had backed out of the room. Only minutes later, Tauriel had run out of her room with her voiceless laugh and swept him in her arms, her way of apologizing for the awkward moment. She had been a breath away from kissing him when he had stumbled and fell down a flight of stairs.

Kíli honestly thought that after that, there wouldn't be anything more he could do to be more embarrassing. Somehow, Tauriel still found him charming and likeable, though after moments like those he couldn't see why. That only made him like her all the more.

Today they walked along the same shoreline where he had first found Tauriel. Kíli wrapped one arm around her, and she felt comfortingly close.

"What were you doing here, the day I found you?" Kíli asked.

Tauriel sighed. She only shrugged.

"I know you can't tell me, but surely you can give me a hint," he said. "Please? I just want to understand."

Tauriel pondered this, then she pointed to the great blue sea stretching before them.

"You were in the ocean?" he guessed. "Swimming?"

She nodded, her eyes sparkling. She had the most beautiful eyes—green, like the ocean's surface on a sunny day. They made Kíli want to go sailing with her at his side. He didn't know why he hadn't yet taken her. That was something he thought she would like.

"And you took a nap...naked?" he said.

She smiled, laughing her silent laugh. She shook her head.

"Of course, that would be ridiculous," Kíli admitted. "Tell me, Tauriel, did you meet any mermaids while you were swimming."

She raised her eyebrows, surprised by his question. Then she smiled slyly at him and winked, holding a finger to her lips.

"No, I suppose I wouldn't tell if I had seen mermaids, either," Kíli agreed. He hadn't told her, or anyone, about the mermaid he thought he'd seen the day he'd almost drowned. Her hair had been as red as Tauriel's. Perhaps it _had_ been Tauriel, though the mermaid hadn't had legs like she did.

He dismissed his silly thought as poetic nonsense concocted by a lovesick mind. Tauriel was more beautiful than any mermaid, anyway. Mermaids were slimy and mischievous, more likely to drown a sailor than save his life.

"Do you love the sea?" he asked.

Tauriel gazed out at the rolling waves and sighed. She nodded.

"Me, too," he said. "At least, I did at one point." He shook his head. "I should take you out on my ship someday. She's called the _Mermaid_. Would you like a voyage like that?"

Tauriel nodded, her smiling lighting up her face. Then she frowned, pointing at him in confusion.

"What about me?" he said.

She nodded.

"Well, I'll just have to get over my anxieties." Truly, the thought of being at sea scared him, but he missed the open ocean, his crew, and the life of a captain. It had all been so good. He liked the life he had now, but it would be better if he could do what he loved as well as being with Tauriel.

She shook her head, as if telling him that his worries mattered. At least, he thought that's what she meant.

"Well..." He hesitated. "I want to go back. I really do. And I think it will be better if I don't go alone."

She took his hand and pressed it against her chest. Kíli's heart beat faster. He understood what she meant very clearly: _I'll go with you_.

"Thank you," he murmured, stepping closer to her. His head tilted up, and hers tilted down; their lips were an inch away... He felt dizzy. This time, there was nothing to interrupt him—no birds or stairs or anything.

Then, a heartbeat before their lips met, Tauriel hesitated and pulled back. Her eyes were full of fear.

Kíli let go of her. "Do you want to kiss me?" he asked.

She hesitated, then nodded.

"But you're afraid to."

She didn't meet his eyes.

"It's okay, Tauriel," he said. "I won't make you if you don't want to." It hurt, knowing she was so conflicted, but his pain was less because of rejection and more because he wanted her to feel good and yet she did not.

She closed her eyes and nodded. Then she took his hand and began to cry.

* * *

Smaug had her ways of watching the world, both on land and on sea. Magic was a tricky beast to conquer, and with no divinely given trident to control its wiles, she had to rely on other methods. She paid a price each time she cast a spell—a piece of her soul was shaved away to feed the great torrent of magic. Demanding payment from those who used her magic for their own good was her way of compensation for the toll on her spirit.

But using a scrying mirror required only one spell to be cast. This mirror was priceless, gained when a young merman had traded a family heirloom in return for his beloved's good health. She had saved the poor girl's life, only for her to die a year later in a war between mer-kingdoms. But the mirror had lasted, and she had enchanted it to show any realm she wished to see.

And she did not like what she saw.

The mermaid turned human was far too close to her prince for Smaug's liking. She had been lucky that they hadn't already kissed, and she thought it good that Tauriel was too hesitant to kiss him on the beach, but she would come around eventually. Smaug's words had worked too well, and Tauriel was convinced that her family didn't love her anymore.

In truth, Thranduil and Legolas had scoured the farthest reaches of Greenwater looking for her. But no part of the mer-king's armada could find Smaug's enchanted cave, and thus Tauriel remained lost. If Smaug had her way, she would stay that way.

She had relied too much on humanity's innate cruelty. Merfolk were an optimistic species, far too trusting and open-minded. Thranduil and Legolas were the exception to the rule in their intolerance for Tauriel's oddities. Humans, on the other fin, were an evil, selfish, conniving lot who would do anything for personal gain.

Prince Kíli was supposed to have teased Tauriel, let her think he loved her, then use her for what he wanted—her body. True love's kiss wouldn't restore Tauriel's voice if he didn't actually love her. But Kíli was far too much of a gentleman to take what wasn't his, and he was actually falling for Tauriel in the same way she was for him.

Smaug didn't care about Tauriel's happy ending. She only cared about her revenge. Thranduil had locked her in this inescapable cave with his gods-given trident, the magical trident that didn't eat him up from the inside out to use. If she had his daughter as a pawn, she could control him, and take not only his magic, but his kingdom as well.

And with Prince Kíli thrown into the mix—well, a dragon could live on land as well as in the water, even a wingless one like her. Smaug could use _him_ as a pawn to _his_ family, and claim both the kingdoms of Greenwater and Erebor as her own, a true queen.

But if Tauriel regained her voice, she could use it to tell the truth. She would ruin all of Smaug's carefully-laid plans by exposing them. It was only a matter of time before Legolas and Thranduil realized that somehow she had ended up on land, the one place she had always wished to be. Then all would be lost.

Smaug would not let that stand. She had never escaped her cavern before because to do so would destroy her soul to a sliver of its original self. Now, she thought she had no choice. Who needed a soul when she would have Thranduil's trident?

But she would need not only to escape, but to be disguised. It was a good thing she had a plethora of magic items that she could spin into a human form. Long, dark hair had come from an old mermaid who had sold her locks to save her youth. A dress had come from a collector much like Tauriel who had needed to save his dying daughter. And of course, the most important part of the disguise—Tauriel's very own voice, hidden in a seashell necklace.

She gathered her ingredients and began to chant her spell. She would wear a human facade by morning, and most importantly, she would be _free_.

A voice was a powerful thing, but Smaug hadn't told Tauriel exactly how powerful.

* * *

Tauriel had come so close to kissing Kíli so many times. She ought to have just gone through with it on the shore that day, but she had been terrified. What happened when the spell was broken and her voice returned? Would he still love her if she could speak? Was she certain that she wanted to remain a human and live with Kíli?

After weeks of being away from them, her anger toward her family had cooled. She knew that Thranduil and Legolas had only been doing what they thought was best for her and for Greenwater, even though they were so incredibly wrong about what would make her happy. But she didn't want to just disappear on them. She wanted to see them again, to reconcile their differences.

But would seeing her new family ruin her standing with her new one? Kíli and his family didn't know that she had been a mermaid. They didn't know where she'd come from or why she was here.

It was all so complicated. Instead of facing her future, Tauriel put off her decision by not kissing Kíli. She wished she could talk to him and tell him everything, but she couldn't reveal her secrets. Not only could she not speak, she couldn't let him know that she had been a mermaid. He wouldn't believe her, anyway. It was better to simply not make the decision and let her current blissful life continue.

Then another woman appeared in the palace.

Tauriel wasn't sure where she came from. She didn't know if anyone else in the palace knew, either. She had grown friendly to the maids and servants who tended her rooms, and they had liked her, as a noble figure that wouldn't tell them to shut up. Tauriel couldn't, though she wouldn't if she could, anyway.

The woman was taller than even Tauriel, with long, dark hair and sharp blue eyes. There was something familiar about her and the smooth, confident way she walked. Tauriel was immediately suspicious of her.

"This is Lady Elvira," Dís said when the woman joined the family for a morning meal.

Lady Elvira smiled, but there was something sly about her glance. Tauriel did not like the way she looked at Kíli.

"She came from the edge of the kingdom to meet our wonderful princes," Thorin said. He nodded to Elvira approvingly. "We were thinking she might make a very fine bride for one of them."

"Well, your Majesty," Elvira said, "I wouldn't be so forward about it."

Tauriel froze in her seat. It took all her willpower to not drop her fork in a clatter. Elvira sounded achingly familiar. That voice was not Elvira's at all, but Tauriel's!

Kíli looked at Tauriel in concern. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Tauriel stared at Elvira. The dark-haired woman smiled, baring her perfect white teeth in an all-too familiar way.

"Yes, are you feeling well, my dear?" Elvira simpered.

Tauriel nodded, subdued.

"Good," Elvira said. "And who are you? I've become acquainted with the rest of the royal family, but, ah...not you."

"She is Lady Tauriel," Kíli explained. He took Tauriel's hand under the table and squeezed it comfortingly. "She's not part of the royal family." He paused, then added, "At least, not yet."

"She cannot speak," Fíli added, "so she's not being rude by not answering you herself."

"Oh, I see I have some competition!" Elvira said. She glanced at Fíli. "Lady Dís, King Thorin, perhaps you'd prefer it if I focused on winning Prince Fíli's heart instead?"

Tauriel wanted to scream out, _No!_ but without her voice, she could not. "Elvira" was a sham, a cover for her true self. Tauriel didn't know how she had gotten here, but somehow Smaug sat before her in a human disguise, using Tauriel's own voice as part of her facade.

Tauriel had thought Smaug was a good witch now, someone who helped people, but her presence here suggested otherwise. And now, realization dawned on her: Smaug had not turned Tauriel into a human to help her. She had done it for her own personal reasons, and she had a feeling that Smaug did not want Tauriel to kiss or marry Kíli after all.

Thorin let out a rumbling laugh. "No, no. Tauriel is simply...a friend of Kíli's."

"Besides, I like my single life," Fíli said wryly.

"You are a guest in our house," Bilbo said from his place beside Thorin. "And you would be a fine wife for either of the princes."

Tauriel looked down at her lap, hurt. She had thought Kíli's family had liked her! They had often made comments about Kíli taking his time in courting her, and their relationship was most certainly a courtship. Bilbo had been unfailingly kind and supportive to her, understanding how strange it was to be an outsider to the royal family. Fíli treated her like a sister, joking around and telling her of his important princely duties that Kíli was somehow mostly exempt from.

Even stuffy Thorin's heart had melted when he had seen Kíli and Tauriel on the dance floor. He had gifted her jewelry and an expensive ball gown, his way of showing affection. And Lady Dís, though critical of her son's choice at first, had slowly grown to approve of Tauriel, being a kind friend and a knowledgeable woman.

Now they had cast all that aside. Furiously, Tauriel guessed that Smaug had cast a spell on them to make them like her. If she meant to steal Kíli from her, she had another thing coming. Tauriel's heart hardened. She wouldn't let two families be stolen away from her by this crafty sea witch!

"Well, this prince thinks he would prefer to make his own decisions," Kíli said, frowning. He blinked rapidly, glancing between Tauriel and Smaug.

"Of course," Smaug said smoothly. "But I hope you will at the very least...consider your options."

Tauriel hated to hear her own voice used like that, as a weapon of someone else's cunning instead of as a part of her soul. She didn't know what Smaug stood to gain through this facade, but she could guess: control of Erebor.

Tauriel's blood ran cold. If Smaug had escaped her cave, and was truly evil and not good as she claimed to be, had she already conquered Greenwater? Surely she would go there and take her revenge on Thranduil first.

Kíli seemed troubled. "Yes, yes," he agreed. Tauriel's heart lurched. Was he becoming trapped in Smaug's spell as well.

"Lady Elvira, is there any part of the palace or the city you would like to see?" Dís asked. "I'm sure Kíli would be happy to show you around."

"Well..." Elvira batted her lashes, then smiled from underneath them. "I've heard that his Highness is a sea captain. I would love it if he could take me for a ride in his ship."

Kíli froze. Now it was Tauriel's turn to squeeze is hand. "I haven't been at sea for a while, my lady," he said uncertainly.

"We wouldn't be out on the open ocean, Kíli," Fíli pointed out. "Just a quick tour of the shoreline, perhaps? This afternoon?"

"That sounds lovely," Smaug said. "I do love the ocean."

"Didn't you say you came from the other side of the country?" Kíli asked, frowning.

Tauriel seethed silently. The royal family had been addled by Smaug's magic. They had asked Tauriel all sorts of questions when Kíli found her even though she could not speak, but this "Lady Elvira" shows up one day and they've suddenly decided to adopt her without knowing anything about her? Tauriel was certain that some spell was at work. That made her feel a little better: it meant that Kíli's family had not totally forgotten about her after all.

Tauriel raised her head. She gave Smaug a forced smile, then turned to Kíli with one hand on her chest. May I go?

"Of course you can come, Tauriel," he said. He took her hand and kissed it. Across the table, Smaug's eyes flashed angrily.

The meal adjourned and the family went their separate ways to prepare for the afternoon's ship voyage. Kíli walked Tauriel to her rooms, but he didn't leave her when they arrived.

"What do you think of Lady Elvira?" he asked her. He had a frown on his face, and he seemed confused. Tauriel hoped that meant he was resisting Smaug's spell.

She shook her head, her eyes narrowed. She did not like Smaug's disguise at all.

"That's what I thought," Kíli said. "I don't know...She seems nice. Clever."

She wasn't nice, but clever—Tauriel would give her that. Clever, cunning, and evil. She wondered how she had ever thought Smaug was good in the first place. Had the sea witch cast a spell on her as well, or had her anger and desperation simply taken hold of her and ignored all of the warning signs?

"Don't worry, Tauriel, I'm not going to marry her, whatever my family says," he assured her. "I like you more than some stranger."

Tauriel smiled, comforted. Now that he wasn't with Smaug anymore, he seemed more certain of himself. She raised one eyebrow and waved a hand, trying to ask him if he thought Elvira was strange.

"No, you're not a stranger, not anymore," he said, missing her meaning entirely.

Tauriel sighed. Most of the time, he could understand her, but sometimes he didn't. She wished she had her voice back.

"I'll see you later today," Kíli said. "On the _Mermaid_." He took a deep breath. "I guess it's time for me to go back, at last."

Tauriel should have kissed him right then, to comfort him and to break her spell. If she had her voice back, then surely Smaug's disguise would crumble, and Tauriel could explain what had happened.

If they would believe her.

Kíli left, unkissed, and Tauriel retreated to her rooms, cursing herself.


	3. Worlds Collide

Aboard the _Mermaid_ , Kíli was back in his element. He was a joy to watch. Tauriel knew he had been anxious and worried that he would never regain his love for the sea and his confidence as captain after his close shave with death, but Tauriel was so glad she had saved him that day. He was happy again, shouting orders to his crew and occasionally flashing a grin back to her.

It was strange to be aboard a ship. Tauriel was used to swimming the ocean, though she didn't know if she knew how to do so with legs instead of a fin. Riding a ship felt more natural than she could ever have imagined as a mermaid.

She thought it was very ironic that Kíli had named his ship the _Mermaid_. Had the gods put that idea in his mind, or had he thought of it all on his own? Either way, Tauriel thought it very fitting that he should be saved and fall in love with a real mermaid.

"So, Lady Tauriel..." Smaug began, drawling in a way that Tauriel would never have done. "Have you known Prince Kíli long?"

Tauriel nodded stiffly. She and Smaug sat on a bench in the center of the ship. Dís spoke with Thorin and Bilbo a few feet away, and Fíli wandered about the deck, talking with Kíli's crew as they worked. She hated being isolated with Smaug.

"Do you think he likes you?" Smaug asked.

Again, she nodded stiffly.

"Now, there's no need to be rude," Smaug said. "I know you can't speak, but I can tell you don't like me much."

Tauriel tapped her head, then pointed to Smaug and glared. _I know who you are._

"Yes, I thought you must know." Smaug bared her teeth in a falsely friendly smile. "Don't you think it was so clever of me to use your voice as part of my disguise?" She tapped a seashell necklace clasped around her throat. "It's hidden in here, you know. So close, yet so far."

Tauriel clenched her fist. She pointed again, then mouthed the word _bad_.

"I can't believe you ever believed I was good in the first place, darling," Smaug said. "Oh wait! Yes, I can. I have powerful magic. I was messing with your mind the same way I'm changing the way everyone aboard this ship thinks about both me _and_ you."

Tauriel glanced fearfully at Kíli.

"Yes, even him." Smaug laughed. "I'll steal his heart away, and then both Greenwater and Erebor will be mine!"

Tauriel stared at her in horror.

"I'm only telling you this because you can't tell anyone else," Smaug explained. "Isn't that ironic? And aboard a boat called the _Mermaid_ , as well!"

Tauriel stood up abruptly. She had no choice. No matter what the consequences, she would not let Smaug win like this. She had to kiss Kíli— _now_.

Smaug stood up beside her. "You can't kiss him," she said. "It wouldn't be _true love's kiss_. He doesn't love you."

 _He doesn't love_ you _, either,_ she though vehemently. If Kíli didn't love her, then it wouldn't work, but she had to try.

Kíli was speaking to Fíli. The two brothers were joking about some conversation they'd had previously that Tauriel had not been privy to. At least, that's what she assumed from their morbid jests about Kíli drowning.

Tauriel tapped on his shoulder. Smaug stood a few feet away, her arms crossed and her expression thunderous.

"Tauriel," Kíli said, smiling at her warmly. "What is it?"

She looked at him with all the love she could muster. Everything about why she loved him floated to the surface of her mind. He was kind, and explained his human customs to her without any sense of judgement. He cared about her truly and deeply, and did all he could to understand her despite their difficulties in communication. He had an unconquerable desire to push the horizon and do the unthinkable: what other kind of human would love the sea so much?

"Tauriel—" Smaug warned her, but Tauriel blocked her out. She grabbed Kíli's hand and smiled down at him.

Kíli had eyes only for her, but he was confused. "What's going on?" he asked. "Is everything alright?"

"Kíli, I think Lady Elvira—" Fíli began.

Kíli shushed him. "Tauriel, are you alright?"

 _I will be with you by my side,_ Tauriel thought, and she leaned down to kiss him.

"No!" Smaug screeched, and a wave erupted and engulfed the _Mermaid_. People shouted and screamed, and Tauriel was pushed away from Kíli. She landed hard on her back, crying out silently in pain.

The wave disappeared and everyone stared at Smaug in shock. The whole crew and passengers were totally soaked, but Smaug stood untouched by the water. Her eyes blazed with a magical light.

"Lady Elvira?" Thorin said uncertainly.

"You will _not_ kiss him," Smaug hissed to Tauriel, ignoring him. She stepped forward. "You will _not_!"

Tauriel scrambled to her feet, trying not to slip and fall. She pointed at Smaug and shook her head, her accusatory arm trembling.

"That's not Lady Elvira," Kíli realized. "She's a..."

"A sea witch," Smaug hissed.

The whole crew gasped, totally riveted on the chaos in the center of the ship. The _Mermaid_ floated unattended as a storm of magic swirled above Smaug and whipped up the waves around them.

Tauriel could not yell that Smaug was a dragon in disguise. She could not shout that she was evil and wished to take control of Erebor. She could not holler out the truth, that she herself was not who she seemed, that she was a mermaid princess of Greenwater.

But she could reveal who Lady Elvira truly was.

Tauriel lunged forward, grabbed Smaug by her necklace. Smaug screamed and shouted an incantation, but Tauriel was not blown backward.

She yanked the necklace off of Smaug's throat.

Smaug's scream became warped, changing from Tauriel's own voice to her own deep growl. And then her body began to change. Her long black hair fell to the ground, a wig of mermaid locks, and her dress tore to shreds as her body expanded and grew scales, claws, and teeth.

"Foolish mermaid!" Smaug cried. "You've only made me stronger! As a dragon, I can crush you easily!"

"Mermaid?" Kíli breathed.

Tauriel clutched the necklace to her chest, sobbing and hoping beyond hope that her voice would return.

 _Kíli, I wanted to tell you,_ she thought, mouthed, and sobbed all at the same time. "It just never—"

She stopped, then touched her lips. She had _spoken_.

"Tauriel! You can _talk_?" Kíli cried.

"I couldn't, I—" she began, but there was too much to explain.

Smaug the dragon writhed on the deck, her scales glowing and flashing a thousand different colors.

"She is not who she let you believe she was!" Smaug cried. "She is a mermaid princess! She sold her voice to be with you, the man she saved in the storm! And in doing so she gave _me_ the perfect bargaining chips for both your kingdom and her own!"

"Kíli!" she cried. She could finally say his name, but she wished it had not been under these circumstances. "Don't trust her! She's Smaug, she's evil, and—"

"It's too late for you!" Smaug cried. With one flick of her tail, she shot into the air. "You failed, Princess! And now that you have stolen back your voice, you violated your contract!" She cackled, and Tauriel felt her legs grow weak.

"No!" she sobbed, but she fell to the deck, her legs turned back to a tail once more.

Smaug created another huge wave, capsizing the _Mermaid_ and sweeping its inhabitants into the sea.

"Tauriel!" she heard Kíli cry. Someone grabbed her arm, and then her world went black as a wave swept over her and she was lost to the sea.

* * *

Kíli didn't know what shocked him more: finding out that Tauriel was a mermaid, or watching the _Mermaid_ sink to the bottom of the ocean.

His pride and joy, the ship he had designed and even helped to build, destroyed on its second voyage. He felt scarred, and cursed as a captain. Maybe he just wasn't meant to be on the sea after all.

But watching Tauriel regain her voice, then turn into a mermaid right before his very eyes? Kíli could feel his mind shutting down in disbelief. Why hadn't she _told_ him? He knew she couldn't talk, and that he probably wouldn't have believed her, but...He wasn't surprised to discover that the mysterious woman who had saved him really had been a mermaid, and that it had been Tauriel.

And watching the strange Lady Elvira transform into a hideous dragon...that had shocked him more than anything. The _Mermaid_ 's demise was explainable as a sign from the gods that he ought to stay on the land. Tauriel being a mermaid made sense in retrospect through his murky memories and the strange way she acted. But Elvira had seemed so beautiful...so normal...how could she be... _that_?

Kíli bobbed in the water, holding on a to a piece of flotsam. Around him, people floundered in the ocean. He hoped that no one would drown. He knew everyone in his crew and family could swim, and the shore was clearly visible, so they should be okay.

The only he would worry about was...Tauriel. But she was a _mermaid_ now, and capable of taking care of herself. He had tried to grab her before the boat had capsized, but she had slipped out of his grasp.

A great dragon stuck its head out of the ocean, roaring. Kíli stared at it, unable to understand how that beast had once been the lovely Lady Elvira. Tauriel must have known all along—Elvira must have been using Tauriel's voice.

He didn't understand how these things had happened. He felt lost and alone and cold.

What was he, a child? He was a captain, a prince. He ought to be rushing in to slay the dragon, but instead he bobbed uselessly in the ocean.

"Tauriel!" he cried out. Even though she had lied to him, even through all this—he still needed her, and now more than ever. She was the one who understood what was happening.

She appeared beside him, her head rising out of the ocean. She had discarded her human garb, and was naked once more. Her eyes were dull and melancholy.

"What?" she asked, not meeting his eyes.

"I..." He didn't know what to say. _You're a mermaid? How?_ was the first thing that came to mind. _Why did you lie to me?_ was another thought. _What's going on? Who is that dragon? What's happening?_ was the most frantic thought, but he also felt like bursting into tears or just giving up and drowning.

"Do you still love me?" was what came out of his mouth.

Tauriel jerked her head up. "Yes," she whispered. "I always did."

"Well—" Kíli's words choked in his throat. "Then help me. Please."

Tauriel nodded. She grabbed him in her arms again and began to swim toward the shore.

"No!" he cried out. "Help me against that—dragon!"

Tauriel stopped swimming. "I can't." She sobbed. "It's all over. The least I can do is save you. But she's won. She—"

And then something else burst out of the water.

It was mermaids, hundreds of them—only, some were mermen. The largest one was a huge male with flowing blond locks and a crown of golden seashells. He held a huge blue trident, glowing with some magical power.

Each merperson was armed to the teeth with tridents, spears, swords—every short-range weapon he could think of, and some he didn't recognize.

Tauriel gasped. He felt her grip on him loosen, and he almost fell back into the ocean, but she remembered he was in her arms at the last moment.

"Who are they?" Kíli asked. "Are they your kin?"

"Yes!" Tauriel exclaimed, hope rising in her voice—her beautiful, wonderful voice. Kíli wished he could have heard it more. It sounded better in her throat than it ever had in Elvira's.

"My father!" she said. "King Thranduil! He's brought his armada with him to fight against Smaug!" She gasped again, and shouted, "And my brother Legolas! He's here too!" Kíli thought she was staring at another merman, with hair as gold as Thranduil's, who swam at the king's right.

Kíli stared at the merpeople. "Is that trident magical?" he said apprehensively. After his experience with Smaug's magic, he wasn't reassured.

"It is a gift from the gods to the rulers of Greenwater, our kingdom," Tauriel explained. "He wields it to control the ocean."

"Smaug!" King Thranduil thundered. "I subdued you once before, and I will do it again! Go back to the cave from whence you came and leave these waters in peace!"

"I am Smaug, and I will be queen!" she roared. "I will not be trapped again!" She cackled madly. "And you have no control over me! I have your daughter in bondage to me!"

Tauriel screamed and dropped Kíli. Kíli floundered in the water, grabbing onto the nearest piece of wood he saw floating in the ocean.

Tauriel rose in the air, encapsulated in a bubble of magic. She floated toward Smaug, and the dragon held her in her claws.

"Tauriel!" Kíli shouted, and he was joined by Thranduil and Legolas's cries.

"What have you done, Tauriel?" Legolas cursed. "You and your human obsession!"

Kíli wondered what _that_ meant. But now was not the time to wonder what had led Tauriel to her seeking Smaug's help and her issues with her family, it was the time to act.

He swam forward slowly, trying to not be noticed by either Smaug or the merpeople. But what could he, a single lowly human, do in the face of a dragon?

"She'll never be free again!" Smaug growled. "She traded her voice for a human body, but she broke our contract, giving me full power over her!"

Thranduil roared in outrage and shot a bolt of lightning at Smaug, but only bounced off her.

"I am invincible!" she cried.

"You're warped from the dragon you used to be!" Thranduil bellowed. "You were once good, helping others—but years of magic ate away your soul, until you turned into...this!"

"I need not sacrifice my soul if I had your trident," Smaug snarled. "Thranduil...be reasonable. Do you want to see your daughter again? I'm willing to make a deal. A magical weapon for a life."

Thranduil hesitated. He looked between his trident and his daughter.

 _Don't trust her,_ Tauriel had said. Kíli was sure Thranduil knew that all too well. Making a bargain would only end in chaos for everyone.

"This is too familiar, isn't it, Thranduil," Smaug purred. She lowered her great head to face the mer-king. "You wouldn't do it to save your wife...but it's not too late you save your daughter."

"You said you only asked my mother for her hair!" Tauriel protested, trapped inside Smaug's bubble.

"I lied," Smaug hissed. "I'm an evil sea witch—what did you expect?"

"Father, don't!" Tauriel cried. "I'm not worth it! Save your kingdom!"

Thranduil looked at his daughter and his trident again. "You look so much like your mother," he whispered.

"Father!" Legolas cried.

"Smaug!" Thranduil said. "I...agree to your demands. Give Tauriel back, and you will have my trident!"

" _Yes!_ " Smaug cried. She dropped Tauriel in the ocean, the ball of magic around her disappearing. Thranduil's trident shot out of his hands and into Smaug's clawed grasp.

"I am queen of Greenwater!" she cried. "And soon I will rule Erebor as well!"

Kíli gasped in horror. He floated helplessly in the ocean as Smaug cackled. The trident glowed and Smaug grew to twice her already gargantuan size.

"And now..." She laughed, a booming sound that shook the waves like an earthquake. "I will take you all as prisoners—I mean, subjects!"

She pointed the trident at Thranduil, and soon each mermaid and human in the waters was trapped in the same bubble of magic as Tauriel had been.

Kíli felt himself rise in the air, and he let out a very unprincely scream, until suddenly something barreled into his bubble, popping it, and he fell screaming into the ocean.

* * *

"Wh...what happened?"

"Shh," Tauriel whispered, stroking Kíli's forehead. "Be still. You had a rough journey."

Kíli ignored her and sat up. His eyes were unfocused, and he squinted in the faint light. "Where are we?"

"A cave by the shoreline," Tauriel said.

"How did we get here?" Kíli asked. "And...why are you...talking?" His eyes flitted from her face to her naked torso to her tail.

"You're a mermaid," he said, stating the obvious.

Tauriel blushed and swished her tail. "Yes."

Kíli groaned and lay back down. "I'd hoped that was all a dream."

"Sorry." Tauriel did feel bad. She wished she could have told him earlier, but there had been no way. "Really, I am. If I'd had my voice..." She trailed off.

"How did...all this happen?" Kíli asked. He sighed. "I know you only did what you thought was best. But please...now that you can, can you explain everything?"

How could she deny him? So Tauriel told him—all of it, from her fascination with humans to her collection being destroyed to her deal with Smaug to the chaos aboard the _Mermaid_.

"But how did we get here?" Kíli asked.

"After my father gave up his trident..." Tauriel flinched at the memory. Of course he had done it—the trident was what Smaug had asked for in order to save her mother's life, not hair. Thranduil had refused, and then his wife had died.

"After that," she said, finding the strength to continue, "I wasn't trapped. I don't think Smaug could trap me anymore, not after she traded me for the trident. And as soon as I touched your bubble, it popped. I think she couldn't cast her net wide enough to capture everyone, especially when her spell was tested."

"And then...you brought me here," Kíli guessed. He rubbed his head. "You know, if you'd told me this morning that I would be spending the night in a cave with a mermaid, I would never have believed you."

"If I'd told you anything this morning, you'd be shocked," she said, but she smiled at his joke. How could he make her feel good even in the midst of all this?

"I'm sorry," she said again. "I shouldn't have lied or—"

"Shh," he said. He scooted close to her and took her hand. "It's okay. I forgive you. Under the circumstances...I don't know if I would have done any better."

"Oh, Kíli, I love you," she said.

Kíli smiled. "I know. I love you too."

They leaned together and finally kissed for the first time.

There was no magic, no return of what was lost, no magical transformation. Only Kíli and her, pressed together and happy despite everything.

"What do we do now?" Kíli asked after they broke apart.

"What do you mean?" Tauriel said.

"I mean, we can't just let Smaug get away with this," Kíli said. "She's stolen both our kingdoms. We've got to take them back, and save our families."

Tauriel stared at him. "You humans are truly incredible," she said.

"What?" he said. "Wouldn't a mermaid fight for her kingdom?"

"With the trident, Smaug is nearly invincible," Tauriel said. "There's no hope." She shook her head. "As I escaped with you, most of the merfolk armada were surrendering. She has control now. No doubt she'll focus on conquering Erebor next, and with their king as a pawn..."

"We can't just give up!" Kíli said.

"Yes," Tauriel agreed. "We'll fight. Even though it's hopeless, I'd rather die fighting for my home and family—both in Erebor and Greenwater—than live knowing I let them fall."

* * *

Kíli returned to the city, and Tauriel to the sea, to gather information. They met back up again in the cave that night.

"It's depressing," Kíli said. "The whole royal family has gone missing, and the city is restless. They don't know what they're in for. If Smaug attacks, we'll be caught off guard. My uncle Frerin is commander of the armies, but he's off on the other side of the country right now, taking care of bandits."

"Smaug has taken control of all Greenwater," Tauriel said, hanging her head. "It's...horrible. Everyone's afraid. I had to sneak around so I wouldn't be recognized. Smaug's pressed every available merperson into her armada, and promised freedom to those she captured if they'll fight for her. She wants to turn them into fighting humans and attack Erebor."

"We've got to stop her," Kíli said. "Let's go—rally her armies to our side. Then we'll get the trident from her—"

"How?" Tauriel asked. "She's all-powerful with a weapon like that."

"If we free your father, he'll know what to do," Kíli said.

"I don't know," Tauriel said. She didn't even know how Thranduil had known where and how to find her. His armada had come so quickly that he must have known something.

"Tauriel, we've got to try," Kíli said. He kissed her again, and Tauriel's fear melted away.

"You're so brave," she said. "Let's go."

* * *

Kíli couldn't breathe underwater, but he could walk along the shoreline. He was terrified of failing, of dying, of losing Tauriel. He had only just gotten her back.

He walked along the beach, watching as Tauriel swam in the shallowest parts of the ocean. He could still scarcely believe she was truly a _mermaid_ , a creature of the ocean. Her life was so different than his, so incredible, and yet she had chosen to live with him instead.

He walked and walked and walked. It would have been faster if Tauriel could have carried him, but she needed to save her strength.

At last, he reached the harbor. The water was deep, and it was the perfect place for Smaug to lead her armada of merfolk.

Tauriel made eye contact with him, nodded, and then dove underwater. Kíli took a deep breath and stood on the harbor docks, carrying only a single sword he had stolen in his visit to the city. What that sword could do against an evil dragon and her magical trident, Kíli didn't know, but it made him feel better to have it.

The sailors walking along the docks gave him odd looks. Many of them he knew, but they didn't seem to recognize them. He didn't blame them. He looked very different without his royal attire, which had for the most part been ruined by his dip in the sea.

The water rippled in the harbor, rocking the boats. Kíli's heart skipped a beat.

Then Smaug erupted out of the harbor, roaring. People on the docks screamed and shouted, running for their lives, but Kíli stood still, watching the dragon with a set expression.

Merfolk popped out of the water around her, looking just as grim and sad as Kíli felt. Kíli drew his sword and gripped it with trembling hands. Despite what Tauriel said, he did not feel at all brave.

Tauriel shot out of the water and cried out, "Stop!"

Smaug turned to look at her. "You," she growled. "You almost ruined everything once, but I won't let you do it again!"

She pointed the trident at Tauriel, but the bolt of lighting she shot at her disappeared before it touched her.

"You can't hurt me," Tauriel proclaimed. "You promised you would not by taking that trident from my father. You will not do it."

"You don't have to do this," Kíli called out, speaking to the merfolk armada, not to Smaug.

"Puny human, who do you think you are?" Smaug sneered. "A noble warrior, come to slay a dragon? With that tiny sword? Hah!"

Kíli ignored her. "You—warriors. You fight for your king, don't you? Not this usurper!"

"The king is defeated," one warrior said uncertainly.

"But the kingdom of Greenwater is not!" Tauriel cried. "I am Thranduil's daughter, and I command you to turn and fight! Smaug is not our ruler, nor will she ever be!"

"I can kill you all if I wish!" Smaug screeched. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and clouds darkened overhead.

"And then what armada would you have?" Kíli demanded.

"Merfolk of Greenwater, rally to your princess!" Tauriel commanded. "Turn against Smaug! We are not defeated!"

The merfolk glanced at each other, then at Smaug. Then they turned, glaring, at the dragon they hated.

"You cannot!" Smaug growled. "I won't let you! I—" She turned toward Kíli. "You! This is all your fault, prince!"

"No!" Tauriel cried, but it was too late. Even as the merfolk armada attacked her, Smaug pointed the trident at Kíli.

A bolt of lightning struck him, and he knew nothing.

* * *

Kíli was dead. Kíli was dead. Tauriel stared in shock as her prince fell to the ground, scorched. There was no way could have survived.

"Kíli," she whispered.

"Princess!" a merman called. "Help! What do we do?"

Smaug had turned on the merfolk, shooting bolts of lightning at them as well. Tauriel stared at them in horror. She had no idea what to do, what to say—Kíli had been the brave one, not her. And he was dead.

Someone grabbed her arm. Tauriel turned to face her brother.

"Legolas!" she exclaimed. "How—?"

"I'll explain later," he said. "I tricked her into thinking I surrendered. You've done well, Tauriel, but you're no leader of the armada. Leave this to me."

"What can I do?" Tauriel asked. "She—she killed Kíli."

"Grieve later," Legolas snapped. "For now, you need to save Father."

"Where is he?" Tauriel asked.

"She locked him in the dungeons," he explained. "I think she wanted to trap him like he trapped her, but she didn't have time. Go. Free him!"

"Yes," Tauriel said. She hesitated, then said, "I'm sorry, Legolas. This is all my fault—"

"Go!" he ordered, shoving her head back into the water.

Tauriel dove. She swam and swam and swam, down to the bottom of the ocean where Thranduil's palace was.

When she arrived, the place was deserted. Everyone left in the city was hiding fearfully. No one stopped her as she swam to the dungeons.

"Father!" she called. "Father!"

"Tauriel!" a hoarse voice cried. "Over here!"

Tauriel swam up to his cell. Her father sat miserably in the cell, his eyes tired and his golden hair floating messily about his face. She was shocked to see him like this. He looked like an old merman, not a noble king.

"I came to free you," she said. "Kíli...the human prince and I rallied the armada against Smaug. She—she killed Kíli, but Legolas is leading the armada now."

"Tauriel, I'm so sorry," Thranduil said. Tauriel stared at him through the bars, shocked to hear those words come out of his mouth. He was not one to apologize.

"It's fine," she said. "Where are the keys?"

"It's not fine," Thranduil insisted. He smiled wryly. "I destroyed your collection. That was something I never should have done. If I hadn't done that, none of this would have happened."

"If I hadn't saved Kíli, none of this would have happened," she pointed out. "We all share the blame. Father—thank you. I love you. I forgive you. But there's no time. Where are the keys? If the armada sees that you've been freed—"

"They'll have the strength to keep fighting," Thranduil agreed. "The keys are hanging on that wall." He pointed.

"Where has Smaug kept the other prisoners?" Tauriel asked as she unlocked his door. "The human ones?"

"They're unconscious in their bubbles," Thranduil said. "She put them in her old cave, I believe. She would have put me there, too, but she wanted to keep an eye on me." He sighed. "I'm useless without my trident, though. There was no need."

"You are still our king," Tauriel said. "You will inspire the armada." The lock sprang open, and Thranduil was free.

He swam out of his cell and embraced her. "I am so proud of you," he whispered.

Tauriel was frozen for a moment, shocked. He was truly shaken by these events, to say such a thing to his disappointment of a daughter. Then she hugged him back tightly.

After a few seconds, Thranduil let go of her. "Come," he said gruffly. "We must defeat Smaug!"

* * *

Kíli couldn't believe he wasn't dead.

He woke battered and bruised, his hair smoking, but very much not dead, on the docks. He groaned and stumbled to his feet, taking in the chaos before him.

Smaug killed and killed, relying on her magic trident more than her dragon claws and teeth. The merfolk armada pressed forward anyway, but they were tiring. Citizens of Erebor gawked at the battle from the harbor entrance, but none of them dared get too close.

Kíli felt a rush of anger. Why were they just standing there instead of helping? If his crew were here...

But they weren't. Kíli steeled himself and ran toward the crowd.

"What are you doing?" he yelled. "Help!"

"That's a dragon," someone said, awed.

"Those are _mermaids_ ," another person said.

"Help me!" he yelled. "Someone—anyone! I am Prince Kíli, and you will help me sail this ship!" He pointed at the biggest ship he could see. That would get him close enough to Smaug to strike.

At the words _I am Prince Kíli_ , the crowd hesitated. Then half of them ran away, back into the city.

The other half grimaced. One of them, a young woman, stepped forward.

"I'll help you," she said.

More and more agreed, until Kíli had a sizeable crew to aid him.

"Good," he said. "Now, get aboard that ship! We sail for the dragon!"

In the chaos, nobody even noticed as the ship set sail. The dragon was not very far away, and soon merfolk were yelling and diving for safety as the ship approached.

In the water, Legolas shouted commands—and so did Thranduil! Kíli had no idea how those two had gotten free, but the thought that Tauriel's family were no longer captive comforted him. That meant his family was most likely alive as well.

Someone screamed his name: "Kíli!"

Kíli waved at Tauriel from the bow of the ship, beaming.

"You're not dead?" she shouted.

"Evidently not!" he called.

"What are you doing?" she cried.

"Killing the dragon!" An idea flashed to his mind. "Distract her for me!"

Tauriel nodded, then turned to Smaug. "Hey, Smaug! You will never be a true queen!"

Smaug roared. "Tauriel! You will die!"

Kíli squinted as Smaug lumbered in her direction. The dragon was _huge_ , a colossal beast that touched the ocean floor, deep as the harbor was. She was not in good shape. She bled from many wounds inflicted by the merfolk, and her golden eyes were feverish with rage. She wasn't thinking clearly—good.

Kíli wondered how he could have ever thought that this monster, even in a human disguise, was beautiful. It must have been the spell.

Tauriel taunted Smaug, swimming to and fro as the dragon swiped at her. Too incensed to focus on anything else, Smaug's trident was left unused, as its magic could not touch Tauriel.

Tauriel was too quick to be caught by Smaug. She whooped and laughed, jumping in and out of the ocean, driving Smaug further into blind rage.

The dragon didn't notice the ship until it rammed right into her.

Then she _screamed_ , an unearthly sound that made Kíli want to crawl into a ball and cry. But he stood strong, watching as she turned to face him.

"I thought you died!" she growled.

"Well, I didn't," he said, "but you're about to."

He raised his sword—such a feeble instrument compared to the mass of the sea witch dragon—and threw it at the hand that held the trident.

There was no magic spell, no great blast of power. Only a single finger sliced clean off by the strength of a normal sword and a good arm.

Smaug screamed and dropped the trident. As she did so, she shrank back to her normal size—still huge, but not as big as a mountain as she used to be.

Kíli jumped from the bow and into the sea. The trident plummeted downward into the sea, and swam after it, as fast as he could.

It was so close to him, glowing with magic power... He reached out a hand to grab it... But he was so deep, and there was no way he could swim back up and survive. If only he'd had one more chance to tell Tauriel he loved her before he died...

His hand wrapped around the trident, and he shot back up out of the ocean.

He gasped, floating in the air as the magic of the trident burned his hand. His mind was energized, his wounds healed instantly—he bet that even his hair looked magnificent as the trident's power surged through him.

"Smaug!" he cried in a booming voice that was not entirely his own.

The dragon saw him holding the trident and knew that all was lost.

"You will never survive!" she cried out, but even Kíli knew that it was all a sham. She was terrified. "The magic will kill you! You're human, you're mortal, you—"

Kíli ignored her. He pointed the trident at her. "You," he said, "are an evil witch, and I am glad to see you die."

He didn't know how to control the trident, but somehow, that didn't matter. It had a mind of its own, and it wanted revenge.

A bolt of lightning shot out of the trident and struck Smaug straight in the chest. The dragon screamed, then shattered into a thousand multicolored scales, her body and mind destroyed.

Dragon scales rained from the sky down into the ocean and the harbor. Some fell in the boat, and Kíli heard his makeshift crew whooping in joy as they caught the priceless scales that had once belonged to Smaug.

Kíli suddenly felt very dizzy. "Um," he said to the trident. "I think that if I hold onto you any longer, I might just explode. Can you...put me down?"

The trident surged with power, then zoomed him over to the harbor docks. As soon as Kíli's feet touched the ground, he collapsed, letting the trident fall out of his hand.

Merfolk cheered. Kíli waved at them weakly, suddenly more exhausted than he had ever felt in his life, even after nearly drowning.

Three merpeople swam over to him: Thranduil, Legolas, and Tauriel.

"Kíli!" Tauriel sobbed. She jumped up on the deck beside him and cradled his head in her arms.

He smiled at her weakly. "Tauriel," he rasped.

"I thought you died," she whispered.

"Me too," he said. "But I didn't."

"Human." Thranduil's voice was guarded. "Thank you for killing the dragon. You have done Greenwater a great service."

"Hey, no big deal," Kíli said. He coughed. "Well, okay, it was a big deal. But you can have your trident back. I think if I tried to use it again, it would kill me." He glanced to Tauriel. "You merfolk are made of tough stuff, if you can endure using that thing."

"Humans are made of tough stuff, too," Tauriel said, "if you can survive Smaug's lightning."

"So many merpeople died..." Legolas trailed off, his voice sorrowful. "But you survived."

"Legolas, I—" Tauriel began.

"There will be time for this later," Thranduil said. He picked up his trident, and instantly, he went from looking like an old man (well, merman) to a handsome king. All that was missing was his crown. "For now...there are things to do." He looked at Tauriel and sighed.

"Tauriel, my daughter..." Thranduil smiled, a tear trailing from his eye. "I am so sorry for all I have done to you. Can anything make it up to you?"

Tauriel glanced at Kíli, then at her tail. "Well..." she said. "I would like to get married, Father. I think my time has come to leave Greenwater, for good."

Thranduil nodded. "I knew you would say that." He sighed. "But I will miss you."

"Me, too," Legolas said. Even he looked a little teary-eyed.

"I'll miss you too," Tauriel said.

"My family!" Kíli realized. "Are they—?"

"They'll be fine," Tauriel assured him. "Father can set them free now."

"But first..." Thranduil pointed his trident at Tauriel's tail. A golden glow surrounded her, and Kíli felt warm as she touched him.

Then the glow faded. Now Tauriel was a human again—and she even wore a thin silk dress. Thranduil must have been paying attention to human mannerisms.

"I love you," Kíli told her.

"I love you too," Tauriel said. She leaned down to kiss him. "But don't ever almost die on me like that again."

Kíli cracked a smile. "Well, you know what they say," he said sagely, "lightning never strikes the same place, or person, twice."

Then he promptly passed out.

* * *

In the days to come, everything was sorted out. Tauriel said goodbye to her former home and was formally invited into her new one. She was engaged to Kíli, and soon to become a princess of Erebor instead of Greenwater.

Kíli's family was freed from their underwater prison. Tauriel and Kíli explained everything that had happened, and Thorin got to decide what to tell the citizens of Erebor. Tauriel did not envy him that task.

Dís, Fíli, Bilbo, and Thorin each thoroughly apologized for the way they had acted under Smaug's spell. Tauriel forgave them easily. It was clear that they truly did love her and were happy to have her become part of their family, and she knew that they never would have behaved so callously under normal circumstances.

Tauriel reconciled with her family as well. Thranduil and Legolas were both very remorseful for the way they had treated her, and Tauriel shared in the blame for the sour turn their relationship had taken. Her father and brother even wanted to come to her wedding, so she and Kíli's family arranged to hold the ceremony on the newly-built _Sea Palace_ , Kíli's second ship.

Half of Kíli's crew retired after their jaunt beneath the surface. Tauriel didn't blame them. An experience like that would be enough to drive her away from nearly anything. Kíli hired on many of the sailors who had helped him man the ship that killed Smaug to replace them.

Tauriel had wondered how the merfolk armada had so quickly come to her aid during the first fight against Smaug. It turned out that Legolas had been searching non stop for Tauriel ever since she disappeared. Eventually, he realized she was on land and finally tracked her down when she and Kíli went walking on the shore. He realized she must have been transformed, and asked Thranduil about how such a thing could happen—sneakily, so as not to arouse his father's suspicions—then found Smaug's cave.

The sea witch had escaped, and the enchantment keeping her trapped was destroyed. Upon discovering this, Legolas had rushed back to inform Thranduil and told him the whole story. Then, they and the armada tracked both Smaug and Tauriel to the _Mermaid_ 's wreckage and rushed in to save the day—or at least, to give it a good shot.

The day of the wedding aboard the _Sea Palace_ dawned bright and happy. The ship sailed into the great blue ocean, full to the brim of humans and accompanied by hundreds of merfolk in the water. The ceremony was long and grand, and Tauriel thought that she could scarcely be any happier.

That evening, when Kíli and Tauriel finally got a chance to be alone, Kíli asked her something odd.

"Do you miss being a mermaid?" he inquired.

Tauriel, who had been expecting some romantic comment, laughed.

"No," she said. "Well—and yes. I won't be able to see much of my family, and swimming is much harder without a tail, but..." She kissed him softly, then whispered in his ear, "I would much rather be here, with you, and part of this world."

Kíli kissed her back. "Good," he said, "because you're stuck here with me until the end of our days."


End file.
